BACH – Suite and concertos

In 2002, Arion celebrated its 20th Anniversary with this fine orchestral recording, entirely dedicated to works of J.S. Bach whose popularity has never waned over the years. The CD features some 20 musicians — among whom the soloists are three of Arion’s founding members in addition to the Montreal harpsichordist Luc Beauséjour — under the direction of world-renowned Dutch conductor Jaap ter Linden.

…this is generally music-making of such high quality and imagination that, regardless of what you may have heard before, there are plenty of new insights to be had. - Laurence Vittes, Gramophone, April 2004.

The Montreal-based Arion has grown from a respectable quartet to a first-rate baroque orchestra. A steady stream of inspiring guest directors is one of the secrets to its success. Here, the Netherlands’s Jaap ter Linden conducts the orchestra in ebullient, soulful performances of well-known Bach works. – The National Post (Canada), June 2002.

Arion Baroque Orchestra

LIVELINESS * SPONTANEITY * IMAGINATION

The musicians of Arion started playing together in 1981. From the outset, their concerts were unanimously hailed for their clarity and gusto as well as their refined and expressive performances of a vast array of carefully-chosen early music works. An unrelenting attention to detail has made Arion’s artistic achievements worthy of those of the greatest current early music ensembles in Canada.

The group calls upon world-renowned guest conductors to perform vocal and instrumental works in its high-profile series of concerts in Montreal. The latter include Barthold Kuijken, Monica Huggett, Hervé Niquet, Stephen Stubbs or Jaap ter Linden.

A recipient of numerous awards and grants, Arion has toured extensively throughout Canada, Europe, Mexico and the United States. The year 2000 brought the musicians to the Canadian Prairies, Europe (with a performance at the prestigious SouthBank Centre in London), the Canadian Maritimes and the east coast of the United States.

Arion has more than 25 recordings distributed internationally both as a quartet and in a larger setting with the collaboration of such fine artists as recorder player Marion Verbruggen, soprano Suzie LeBlanc, countertenor Daniel Taylor, tenor Max van Egmond and violinist and conductor Monica Huggett, as well as Barthold Kuijken.

Arion is a member of early-music.com, a site committed to the promotion of some of the world’s finest early music artists.

JAAP TER LINDEN : guest conductor

Cellist and gambist Jaap ter Linden is one of Europe’s most prominent interpreters of baroque music. As one of the first specialists in this field he actively participated in the foundation of many baroque ensembles which now play an important role in our musical life. On completing his studies, together with Ton Koopman, he founded the ensemble Musica da Camera. His subsequent memberships of Musica Antiqua Köln, The English Concert and, until 1998, The Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, have been documented with many recordings.

Ter Linden has recorded numerous cd’s with these ensembles and with chamber musicians like Andrew Manze, Richard Egarr, René Jacobs, Ton Koopman, Reinhardt Goebel, John Holloway and Lars Ulrik Mortensen. His recent recording of the Bach solo suites with Harmonia Mundi usa was unanimously acclaimed.

Ter Linden is quietly becoming more popular as a conductor. Recent guest directions with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie, Portland Baroque Orchestra, Beethoven Akademie, The European Union Baroque Orchestra, Concerto Köln, Amsterdam Bachsoloists and Amsterdam Nieuw Sinfonietta proove that Jaap ter Linden is not only a formidable cellist, but also a fine and versatile conductor.

CHANTAL RÉMILLARD : baroque violin.

A founding member of Arion, Chantal Rémillard has also performed with several other groups, including l’Orchestre de la Chapelle Royale de Paris, Il Complesso Barocco d’Amsterdam, Ars Musica, the American Baroque Ensemble, the Ensemble Carl Phillip, Les Nations, Haydn Heritage, the Ensemble Stradivaria de Nantes and l’Orchestre Anima Aeterna of Belgium. She is concertmaster for the Studio de musique ancienne de Montréal and plays regularly with les Idées Heureuses in Montreal and Tafelmusik in Toronto.

Numerous concert tours and recordings brought Ms. Rémillard to the United States, to Asia, South America and Europe. To her credit, she has more that thirty CD recordings on Analekta, Sony Classical, UMUS, Titanic, ATMA, Rem. Deutsche Harmonia Mundi, ADDA et CBC.

CLAIRE GUIMOND : baroque flute.

Claire Guimond has established herself as a leading baroque flautist, first in Canada and more recently on the world scene. Claire is a founding member and artistic director of Arion, with whom she has frequently toured North and South America and Europe and made over 30 recordings. She performs regularly with Tafelmusik, features in radio and TV broadcasts with Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and the British Broadcasting Corporation and plays at many festivals in Europe and North America, performing under such distinguished conductors as Monica Huggett, Andrew Parrot, Jordi Salvall, Barthold Kuijken and Rinaldo Allesandrini.

HANK KNOX : harpsichord.

Hank Knox studied harpsichord with John Grew at McGill University in Montreal and with Kenneth Gilbert in Paris. He has given numerous harpsichord recitals, and is a founding member of Ensemble Arion, with whom he has toured Canada, the United States, Europe, South America and Mexico. He has performed and toured with the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and le Studio de musique ancienne de Montréal; he plays regularly with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal. He has recorded for Radio-Canada and the CBC, and appears on some 15 recordings with Ensemble Arion.

Hank Knox directs the Early Music program at McGill University, where he teaches harpsichord and figured bass accompaniment, coaches chamber music ensembles and conducts the McGill Baroque Orchestra. In collaboration with Opera McGill, he has directed productions of Purcell’s Dido & Aeneas, Handel’s Giulio Cesare and Peri’s Euridice.

LUC BEAUSEJOUR : harpsichord.

Harpsichordist and organist Luc Beauséjour is known for the elegance, virtuosity, and expressiveness of his playing which has won him an enthusiastic audience, and the continuing praise of critics and music specialists. Mr. Beauséjour has appeared in recital in Paris, Boston, Washington D.C., Toronto, Montreal, and at numerous festivals including the Lanaudière International Festival, the Lamèque Early Music Festival (New Brunswick), and the Vancouver Early Music Festival. He has recorded 12 critically acclaimed CDs on the Naxos, Analekta and CBC Record labels.

Luc Beauséjour holds a Doctorate from the Université de Montréal. He studied harpsichord with Mireille Lagacé and organ with Bernard Lagacé. He also trained in Europe under Ton Koopman and Kenneth Gilbert. First Prize-winner of the 1985 Erwin Bodky International Harpischord Competition in Boston, he has won prizes at several other competitions.